1. Considerations for the Construction of Lichen Databases Data Management

2. Relational Database Platforms Excel MS Access, Paradox, etc. SQL Server Oracle / Sybase

3. Excel Not recommended for long-term storage No data-typing enforcement

4. Excel

5. MS Access, Paradox, Etc. Desktop database systems Do not scale well Front-end application development Free / cheap and fairly beginner friendly

6. SQL Server Microsoft’s database engine for larger scale databases Serving live data on the web possible

7. Oracle / Sybase Enterprise size database systems High cost and maintenance Support for data exchange Recommended if provided

8. General Database Design Consideration Databases should be designed to serve the data best not a particular question

9. General Database Design Consideration Avoid storing redundant information by designing several tables, linking information as necessary

10. General Database Design Consideration Keep information as consistent as possible (e.g. spelling of collector names, description of places) Authority tables Input masks

11. General Database Design Consideration

12. Take advantage of data-typing Dates in date fields Numbers in number fields Don’t mix letters and numbers if possible (collection number, lat long)

13. General Database Design Consideration For any kind of descriptive information (e.g. substrate) consider developing and keyword taxonomy (e.g. bark, coniferous tree, Juniperus deppeana) The better the keywords the more efficient the information retrieval

14. General Database Design Consideration Develop a species checklist for your area or use an existing one to assure highest taxonomic accuracy possible

15. ASU’s Data Model Specimens TLC Records Secondary Compounds Multiple Identifications Types Localities Exsiccati Annotations R. Schoeninger

16. ASU’s Data Model Authority tables Species check list (accepted names, synonyms, authors) List of ecological keywords List of substrates List of collectors and determiners List of localities

17. Database Types and Implications for Use Collections or taxonomic databases Observation databases Measurement databases

18. Collections or Taxonomic Databases Based on collected specimens Highest degree of taxonomic information Information on distribution varies No information on abundance

19. Observation Databases Based on a sampling design for observations Emphasis on absence/presence or abundance Taxonomic value varies

20. Measurement Databases Data on the ecology of a species Laboratory measurements Data from a literature search

21. Interoperability Registering Service & Data Discovery Tool & Target Manager HTML Search Application Meta data Query Distributed Databases Results

22. Meta Data Data about data Taxonomic: NBII, ISO Spatial: FGDC, ISO Ecological: EML Air management?

23. Standardization Efforts Geo-referencing the data Metadata standard Keyword standard Taxonomic thesaurus (ITIS) Geographic thesaurus (Alexandria)